As I've noted, our governor's attack on libertarians in general and Rand Paul in particular was a self-inflicted wound of the worst sort.

Chris Christie not only alienated potential voters in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries; he also called attention to the possibility that he might not serve out his full term if re-elected this November.

That's a subject that his Democratic opponent, Barbara Buono, has been pounding him on. By grabbing those headlines about a potential 2016 presidential race against Paul , he gave her more ammunition.

Speaking at an Aspen Institute gathering attended by major Republican Party donors, a venue at which you really don’t want to make news, Christie jumped at the chance to speak on the tension between civil liberties and government surveillance. He apparently doesn’t see any tension.

Christie doesn’t like seeing the nature and extent of government surveillance being questioned or doubted. He doesn’t like “this strain of libertarianism that’s going through both parties right now.” In fact, it reflects “a very dangerous thought.” He said: “These esoteric, intellectual debates—I want them to come to New Jersey and sit across from the widows and the orphans and have that conversation.” Those who challenge surveillance programs may come to regret it: “The next attack that comes, that kills thousands of Americans as a result, people are going to be looking back on the people having this intellectual debate and wondering whether they put—” Here, according to Jonathan Martin’s report in the New York Times, Christie cut himself off.

The audience—again, including GOP moneymen, at the tony Aspen Institute—was, according to Martin, enthralled. They loved it.

Libertarians and many others did not. I did not.

Noonan goes on to cite a recent Wall Street Journal article in which it was reported that the FBI already has the power to turn on your android phone and listen to you when you're not aware of it.

Yikes! If there were a Republican running the country at the moment, perhaps conservatives might not be so alarmed at that sort of thing. But as long as Barack Obama is president, the natural instinct of Republican voters is skepticism about such a growth in government power.

Christie seemed totally unaware of that when he made those remarks. He assumed he was in a room of insiders who trust the government with that sort of power. And he was.

What he didn't realize is that every word he says has the potential to go viral. I've seen this on many occasions. I'll be at a press conference and he'll make some offhand remark that would go unnoticed if uttered by any other politician in the state.

Next thing I know, it's on YouTube. That's fine when it's in-state stuff. He knows his New Jersey politics.

But he's not up on the national stuff. If he runs in 2016, he'll want to compete for many of the same voters he just insulted.

Live by the viral video, die by the viral video. And he died a little bit with this one.

If Christie were smart, he would not say another word about national or international issues until Nov. 6.

And he would certainly not do so in places like Aspen. Last time I checked a map, that's a long way from Jersey. And he doesn't need to remind voters how much time he's spending out of state.